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Beer braised brisket with onion jam

This week is all about holiday meals, and today is no exception. Beer braised brisket with onion jam is an easy dinner to prepare that can be served for any occasion. Although it takes several hours to cook, it is kept in the oven during the entire time, freeing up your hands for other dishes you may want to prepare. I personally love anything that is slow braised. The cooking method allows the meat to break down and tenderize while soaking in the flavors of the braising liquid. What you end up with is a fall-apart meat that melts in your mouth. Now imagine that beef with a sweet and slighty tangy onion jam…drooling yet? I know I am and I just ate this meal!

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

What is braising exactly? It’s a cooking method that combines both dry and moist heat. Most often, the item being braised is first seared on the stove top. This allows the outside to brown and caramelize. It is than finished in the oven in which the meat is slow cooked in a certain amount of liquid. Slow cooking the meat at a lower temperature breaks down the connective tissue, resulting in a tender meat. This also explains why tougher meats are used for braising. If you cannot find brisket, substitute with a roast, trip-tip, pork shoulder, or even lamb shanks.

If you’ll notice, this recipe doesn’t require you to sear the brisket first. However, the beef will still darken in color because of the spices being used.

Exactly four hours later and my roast was ready. The meat should easily fall apart without a knife when it is ready. The exterior has a golden crust from the spices and from the color of the braising liquid. The entire kitchen smells phenomenal and it’s hard to contain my excitement at this point!

If you’re wondering why the brisket has to be chilled overnight, it’s to help make it easier to slice the beef. Immediately after it’s finished braising for 4 hours, the brisket will be so tender, it will fall apart under the knife. Chilling the beef allows it to firm up and makes it easier to slice.

For the onion jam, if you’re limited on time, caramelize the onions the day before or while the brisket is braising. Add the seasonings excluding the braising liquid and cook according to the recipe. Once the beef is done, reserve 1 cup of the braising liquid. Reheat the caramelized onions with the braising liquid and cook until the liquid is almost all evaporated. Remove from heat and serve with the brisket.

For my full meal, I started with a lovely mushroom bruschetta with whipped goat cheese. The main course was of course, this beer braised brisket with onion jam and, for the side, I prepared hasselback potatoes. Stay tuned for the hasselback potato recipe in a couple days.

The overall meal was fantastic! The beer braised brisket was as tender as expected. The onion jam is a combination of sweet, savory and tangy and a perfect condiment for the beef. You don’ t have to be a meat lover to enjoy this dinner! I also will post a recipe in the upcoming week on what to do with the leftover brisket so stay tuned!